Bank of England says animal fat will stay in banknotes

LONDON – The Bank of England has rejected calls to scrap new banknotes that contain traces of animal fat.

The bank says it will continue to issue polymer notes that contain tallow, a rendered form of animal fat.

Some vegans and Hindus had called on the bank to remove tallow from the 5-pound note introduced last year — Britain's first polymer banknote.

After a public consultation, the bank said Thursday that it would continue to make 5-pound notes, a 10-pound note due to be issued later this year and a future 20-pound note from polymer manufactured using "trace amounts" of chemicals derived from animal products.

It says the only viable alternative is palm oil, which has its own issues about cost and environmental sustainability.